Chapter

6
Dimensioning
PADDS system of layers and scales greatly simplifies adding dimensions to drawings. All measurements are automatically scaled according to the current layer scale. A host of drawing commands are available for dimensioning linear distances, angles, diameters of circles and radii of circles and arcs. Distances between points and angles can also be measured without being dimensioned.

Dimensioning basics
The dimensioning commands are categorized as follows: Linear dimensions, eg horizontal and vertical dimensions. Circular and angular dimensions used to measure diameters, radii and angles. Utilities to measure distances, angles and areas.

Layers and scale

All drawing entities are stored in actual size. However, when they are drawn on the screen, they are scaled according to the relevant layer scales. When dimensioning a drawing, the current layer scale is used in similar fashion to measure distances. To ensure correct measurements, having the correct layer selected as the current layer is important. New dimensions are also drawn on the current layer as ordinary line and text entities. Refer to Chapter 4 for a detailed discussion of layers and scale.

Drawing dimensions
Several drawing commands are available for dimensioning drawings. Newly drawn dimensions are put on the current layer as ordinary lines and text entities. The entities are drawn using the current system dimension parameters.

Dimension parameters
The dimension parameters are a combination of some line and text parameters defining the appearance of new dimension lines and text. The system line parameters are set with the Line parameters command. The dimension parameters are edited by selecting Dimension Parameters on the menu. The following dialogue box appears, with the following aspects:

Line pen number : The line thickness associated with each pen number is used. If a drawing is scaled when printed, its pen widths are scaled accordingly. Text pen number : The same as for line pen. Text font Text height in millimetres. Text width as a factor of text height. Line spacing for baseline dimensions, specified as a factor of text height. Text slant in degrees, up to a maximum of 30. Baseline mode can be toggled on and off. Precision : Number of digits to display after the decimal point. Leader type : Select arrows, dots or lines. Note: Captions and rebar descriptions are also drawn according to the system dimension parameters. The display parameters of drawn dimensions can be changed as for normal text and lines. Refer to Chapter 3 for detail.

The dimension drawing commands

The dimension drawing commands are generally easy to use. A summary of the available options are given below. Refer to the Command Reference for more detail on using the commands.

Linear dimensions
A few commands are available to dimension distances between points. In all cases Baseline mode can optionally be enabled, in which case all measurements are made from a common point.

Horizontal dimensions
The Horizontal dimension command is used to measure and dimension the horizontal distance between two or more points.

Vertical dimensions
Use the Vertical dimension command to measure and dimension the vertical distance between two or more points.

Skew dimensions
Inclined distances can be measured and dimensioned with the Skew dimension command.

Circular dimensions
Diameters of circles and radii of circles and circular arcs can be dimensioned in several ways.

Inside diameters
Use the Dimension inside diameter command to measure and dimension a circle' s diameter. The dimension is drawn through the circle.

Outside diameters
The second method to dimension a circle' s diameter is using the Dimension outside diameter command. Here, a dimension caption is drawn outside the circle.

Radii
Use Dimension radius to measure the radius of a circle or a circular arc. The dimension can be drawn inside or outside the circle or arc.

Angles
The angle between two lines can be dimensioned. Depending on the position of the dimension text, the dimension line is intelligently positioned inside or outside the indicated angle.

Measure commands
A few commands are available to measure distances, angles and areas without drawing any dimensions.

Measuring a line, circle or arc

Measures various properties and displays different information, depending on whether a line, circle or arc is selected. Lines : Coordinates of the beginning and end points, the overall length as well as the horizontal and vertical distances, and the angle of the line are given. For polylines, this data refers to the specific segment indicated, but the entire line length is also included. Circles : The centre point coordinates, circle circumference, diameter and area are measured and displayed. Arcs : The length and radius of the arc, as well as the angle between the imaginary lines joining the start and end points with the centre point, and the coordinates of the start and end points are given.

Measuring a distance
Measures the distance between the two points indicated. The angle of the imaginary line joining the two points is also given.

Measuring an area
Two different commands measure areas. Polygon area measures an area by defining a polygon outlining it. In certain situations, the Trace outline command can also be used to automatically set points on an outline. The Hatch area command, however, measures the area of a selected hatched shape.

Measuring an angle
Measures the angles of each of the two lines selected, as well as the included angle between them. Tip: Use the Trace outline command if a section' s properties need to be calculated. The command traces an outline and creates an input file for the PROKON section properties calculation program, PROSEC. The file is called LASTSEC and will be loaded automatically when the program is executed.

Note: The distance and bearing between two survey points can be measured with the Get distance and bearing command on the Point menu.

Measuring an attribute
Measure the number of each type of entity with a specific attribute. Overall measurements of certain properties are given for the entity types with the selected attribute. An example of the information box displayed for a group of circles, lines and text, all with attribute a is shown below.

Note: An attribute can only be measured once entities have been given attributes. Use the Set attribute command to allocate an attribute to an entity. A prompt requests a name for the attribute. This can be one or more characters in length and can include text, numbers or symbols. Select then the entities to which the attribute is to be allocated.

Modifying drawn dimensions

In PADDS dimensions are stored as lines and text entities. Dimensions are thus not associative, meaning they are not automatically updated when stretched. Dimension text and lines can still be modified using the normal editing functions. Refer to Chapter 3 for detail